The Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) announced it will conduct a 2-part study on artificial intelligence and gaming (AI). The first part will analyze how AI may improve Massachusetts’ gaming industry and affect marketing and customer acquisition efforts.
The second part will research how AI may affect responsible gaming and determine the risk for online sports bettors. The final results of the studies, which will cost $75,000 each, will be due one year after a research organization is selected. The data will be available on the MGC website.
The results will be used by the MGC as it considers if the state will offer online casino and iLottery products. Currently, only seven states, including nearby Rhode Island, offer online gaming.
However, MGC Communications Chief Thomas Mills told PlayUSA, “I want to stress that iGaming is not on the horizon in Massachusetts and that the legislature would need to file and pass a bill legalizing the practice. There are no current bills seeking to legalize iGaming in the legislature.”
Mills noted the iGaming studies, like those done prior to legalizing online sports betting, will “research the subject preemptively.”
According to the MGC’s Request for Proposal, researchers will study the effects of online casino gambling on public health, possible links to problem gambling and iGaming’s impact on players under 25 years of age in the state, among other topics.
The research also should help determine which players run the highest risk of “gambling-related harms.” Regulators also will use the data to determine responsible gaming tactics to minimize potential iGaming addiction problems.
Mills said the selected researchers will analyze data from existing iGaming platforms and current AI technology.
